Railway-car brake-shoe slack-adjuster



(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 1.

H. F. SHAW. RAILWAY GAR BRAKE $1103 SLAGK ADJUSTER.

N0. 599,662. Patented Feb. 22. 1898.

(No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. P; SHAW. A RAILWAY GAR BRAKE SHOE SLACK ADJUSTER. No. 599,662. V Patented Feb. 22,1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

HENRY F. SHAW, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO AMES A. LINCOLN, OF QUINCY, AND RALPH F. ALVORD, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY-CAR BRAKE-SHOE S LACK-ADJUSTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,662, dated February 22, 1898.

Application filed September 28, 1897. Serial No. 653,376. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: pivoted the vertical dead-lever E, to the ex- Be it known thatI, HENRY F. SHAW, of Bostreme lower end of which is pivoted one end ton, in the county of Suffolk and State of Masof the horizontal tie-rod D, the opposite end sachusetts, have invented an Improvement of which is pivoted to the lower end of the in Railway-Car Brake-Shoe Slack-Adjusters, vertical live-lever E pivoted within the opof which the following is a specification. posite truss-frame 0 as heretofore and now The object of my invention is to provide in general use, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. To means for automatically actuating the methe upper end of the said live-lever E is pivchanical devices forming thebrake-shoe slackoted one end of the horizontal actuatingbrake- 1o adjuster that when the brake-shoe is suffirod F, the opposite end being pivoted, as oiently worn away by contact with the peusual, to the horizontal floating lever, (not riphery of the revolving car-wheel as to re shown,) whereby the brakes are simultanequire adjustment of the shoe in relation to ously applied upon the wheels B at the opits most efficient position therewith, by which posite ends of the truck-frames A, when the 15 such wear may be compensated for, as to rebrake mechanism is put in action as heretoestablish the normal position of the contactfore and now in general use for the purpose. surface of the brake-shoe with the car-wheel Now in order that when the brake-shoe G beas to render such frictional contact instancomes worn away upon its contact-face by taneous when the air-brake mechanisms are friction on the periphery of the oar-wheel B 20 appliedin the usual manner; and it consists through the action of the brakes when applied in the construction, combination, and arto stop the rotation of the car-wheels in the rangement of the several parts of the device, usual manner it is necessary that the brakeas hereinafter more fully described, and speshoes should be frequently adjusted, as the cifically set forth in the claim. faces of the same become Worn away by such 25 To the drawings hereto annexed, which frictional contact with the car-wheels, to inform a part of this specification, reference is sure the instantaneous action of the brakes made. when applied, I provide the inward end por- Figure 1 represents a side elevation showtions of the truck-frames A with an automatic ing a slack-adjuster constructed according to slack-adjuster consisting of a suitable hori- 0 my invention detached from the brake mechzontal frame G, bolted firmly to the truckanism. Fig. 2 represents a top plan of the frameAand having pivoted therein centrally same. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation at its lower end the vertical actuating-frame I, showing a portion of the slack-adjuster in pohaving its top portion J extended a short dissition with the actuating brake-rod connected tance and connected to one end of the check- 35 to one of the brake-levers and connecting spring S, the opposite end being connected to devices to actuate the other brake-lever. the horizontal rod R the opposite end of Fig. 4 represents a sectional elevation showwhich is secured to the truck-frame A, as ing the slack-adjuster in position with a porshown in Fig. 3, for the purpose of checking tion of the truck-frame, wheel, brake-shoe, the impact of the blow imparted thereto by 40 and connecting tie-rod and brake-rod in pothe adjustable stops, strikers, 0r projections sition for use. T, secured upon the brake-rod F by means of A represents the inward end portion of the the set-screws H, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, truck-frame, provided with the bolster B, or in any suitable manner, as hereinafter deat which point the truck-frame is pivoted scribed, to render the same effective. With- 45 centrally to the car-body in the usual manin the said frame G is journaled the drum R, 5 ner. The inward end of this truck-frame is provided with a suitable peripheral groove to 4 provided with a pivoted suspension-link A receive the chain P, one end of which is atto the lower end of which is connected the tached to the projecting hook N, as shown, or truss-frame (3 carrying the brake-head and in any suitable manner desired, and the op- 50 brake shoe O, and within this truss-frame is posite end of said chain is attached to the upper end of the vertical dead-lever E, thereby making a flexible connection between the said dead-lever E and the drum R, as essential in the automatic operation of the slack-adj uster, as hereinafter more fully described. The said chain-drum R has formed integral therewith or secured thereto the ratchet K, and the said horizontal frame G has pivoted therein at one end the retaining spring-pawl M, engaging with the ratehet-teeth K by means of the spiral spring 0 one end of which is secured to the frame G and the opposite end to the said retaining-pawl M. The removal of the pawls M and L from the ratchet is produced by means of the curved projecting handle M being pressed downward by hand in order to release the chain P on the drum B when the full extent of the slack has been taken up, caused by wearing out the brake-shoe C, and in order to replace the same by a new one, as hereinafter described.

Now in order to actuate the chain-drum R and connected ratchet K automatically and frequently or at intervals as the brake-shoe C is worn away I provide the horizontal brake-rod F with the adjustable strikers or projections '1, so that when the said brakerod F is moved horizontally in applying the brakes the projection or upper end portion J of the frame I will be forcibly brought into contact with the said strikers T, so as to force the same forward or in the direction to permit the actuating spring hook-pawl L to pass over one of the ratchet-teeth and engage with the next tooth, the said actuating hook-pawl L, is pivoted at its upper end within the said operating-frame I and held in contact at its lower end by means of the coiled spiral spring 0, one end of which is connected to the pivoted end of the hook-pawl L and the other end to the frame I, so that the reverse move ment of the said brake-rod F imparts the opposite motion to the said frame I, and conseuently the hook-pawl L, and thereby rotates the ratchet K and chaindrun1 R a short distance, and thus takes up the said chain P correspondingly, and thereby holds the said dead-lever E from returning to its normal or former position. This action serves to hold the brake'shoes close up to the car-wheels and frequently renew or relatively retain such close position with the wheels as often as the shoes are sufficiently worn to permit such automatic adjustment to take place until the brake-shoes become worn as to require removal of the same and the application of new shoes instead. It will be seen that when the said pawl M is raised up by its handle a sufficient distance aprojection a, provided upon the said actuating hook-pawl L, contacts with the upper surface of the said retaining-pawl M, so that when the handle M is forced downward sufficiently by one hand both pawls L and M are disengaged from the ratchet-teeth simultaneously, as desired. The said checkspring S and horizontal rod R, as shown in Fig. 3, may also be extended to the right or in the opposite direction, or a check-spring may be provided at each side of the actuating-frame J, if desired, or the same may be omitted altogether without departing from the essential features of my invention. It will be seen and understood that the said handle M upon the retaining-pawl M is a matter of convenience in disengaging the spring-pawls from the ratchet in order to release the chain-drum.

It will be seen and understood that a part of the pivoted vertical frame I J is differently shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the part J being shown as a slight modification, as desired, to effect the same result when in operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A slack-adjuster for railway-car brakeshoes consisting of a dead brake-lever provided with a chain connected to a rotary drum and ratchet, and an oscillating frame having an actuating-pawl provided with a horizontal projection near the free lower end thereof, the retaining-pawl extending beneath said horizontal projection and engaging with the teeth of the ratchet on the same side with the actuating-pawl and provided with a leverhandle, whereby both pawls may be disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet by pressure on the handle, so as to release the chain as described, for the purposes set forth.

HENRY l SIIAXV. lVitnesses:

SYLvENUs WALKER, G. G. SLEEPER. 

